Federal Lawsuit Filed Against Major ICE Facility Over Alleged Human Rights Violations
A federal lawsuit has been initiated by four detainees against the largest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center, citing severe human rights abuses and deplorable living conditions. The suit, lodged in the Western District of Texas, accuses the Camp East Montana facility of neglecting medical care and allowing physical violence to occur.
According to the complaint, the facility situated at Fort Bliss military base in El Paso, Texas, exhibits “inhumane” treatment, highlighted by inadequate medical services and reports of abuse. The lawsuit alleges a violation of both human rights and constitutional protections.
“Detained people are regularly subjected to severe beatings or sexual harassment by guards; squalid living conditions; spoiled and inadequate food; no meaningful programming or recreation; inadequate access to basic hygiene products such as soap, razors or nail clippers, outbreaks of disease; and limited or no access to sunlight,” the complaint states.
This legal action marks the first lawsuit against Camp East Montana. Advocates and former detainees have long called for its closure, citing ongoing concerns over the facility’s conditions.
The plaintiffs are seeking class-action status, representing all current and future detainees at the facility. Gerald Akari Angye, one of the plaintiffs, claims to have suffered severe injuries from guard beatings, resulting in hospitalization and solitary confinement. “No human being should ever have to go through this,” Angye stated in an ACLU release. “I have already experienced torture in my home country of Cameroon and I never thought I would experience such severely violent treatment by guards here in the United States of America.”
Another detainee, known only as Navdeep, describes facing unsanitary conditions, difficulty accessing clean water, and inadequate clothing. “We could die here, and it feels like no one here would care,” he said in the same statement.
The lawsuit also highlights the lack of timely medication for serious health issues and a recent measles outbreak that led to a temporary visitor ban. Detainees reportedly live in windowless, cramped quarters with insufficient nutrition.
ICE Director Todd Lyons and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin are named in the lawsuit. A DHS spokesperson dismissed the allegations as “categorically false,” asserting that ICE facilities are subject to regular audits and inspections to ensure compliance with national detention standards.
Opened in 2025, Camp East Montana can accommodate up to 5,000 people but typically holds around 3,000. Past NPR reports indicate at least three deaths have occurred there, including a homicide yet to result in charges. A February inspection revealed 49 violations of detention standards, though DHS has contested these findings.
Unannounced visits by congressional members, including Minnesota Congresswoman Kelly Morrison, have increased scrutiny of the center. Morrison, after her visit, expressed alarm at the conditions likened to a “livestock building” during a federal crackdown in Minneapolis.
